The degree of adhesion or bonding of a material (e.g., a flexible liner) to a substrate (e.g., a metal surface) may be influenced by the cleanliness, quality and configuration of a surface of the substrate. Thus, there have been attempts to improve or alter the surface of the substrate in preparation for adhesion of a material thereto. One method typically employed in preparation of surfaces for bonding consists solely of degreasing the surface. However, degreasing alone does not, in most cases, prepare a surface for a bond of adequate peak load in peel tests. Degreasing followed by chemically etching the surface for bonding has also been used as a surface preparation method. However, the chemical etching procedure is cumbersome, tedious and time consuming. Another common surface preparation method is degreasing followed by mechanical abrasion of the surface for bonding, including shot peening and/or sand blasting. Prior art methods for surface preparation also typically require masking of adjacent surfaces that should not be prepared or otherwise altered. Masking techniques include taping and selective plating. However, control of the size and dimensions of the surface to be prepared and the boundaries between the surface to be prepared and the masked surface are difficult to control.
Those skilled in the relevant art have long sought but have been unable to arrive at a method to prepare a surface for bonding a material thereto which results in a high peak strength in peel testing and does not require masking.